


Choose love or sympathy, but never both

by barbvin



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Betty is 18 in this just so we're clear, F/M, also Betty is really into being called good girl, and also lots of sadness, classic fp trying to be better and failing, everyone has very unhealthy coping mechanisms, feelings and sex, just lots of feelings and lots of sex, pure sin, they're just trying to survive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2017-09-11
Packaged: 2018-12-26 11:31:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12058110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/barbvin/pseuds/barbvin
Summary: Betty shows up at FP's trailer with one purpose, to heal open wounds, or rather get him to make it better.FP has weak morals and deep painful feelings that remained hidden for way too long.





	Choose love or sympathy, but never both

FP had no idea if it was the tenth or eleventh beer; there had also been some whiskey before that, just an average Thursday night for him. The television was making a static noise and he couldn’t be bothered to get up and fix whatever was wrong. The couch seemed softer and deeper every second and everything around him got darker and darker, it wasn’t the ideal way to go to sleep, but nothing was really ideal in his life, it never was.

Ideally, he wouldn’t be waking up to someone pounding on the door.

He got up slowly. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed but the effects of the alcohol weren’t completely gone, still, he was used to dealing with that. When he opened the door, he was surprised by how familiar and yet alarming the situation seemed.

Betty was standing at his door. He recognized her immediately, that wasn’t the problem. The blonde girl was wearing her cheerleading uniform, but her hair was down, messy and almost tangled. Her eyes looked as big and bright as they always did, but then he noticed. There were two cuts, not very big, but still two cuts. One was right above her eyebrow, and the other on her cheekbone. She still didn’t look upset, or even bothered at all, she seemed to be there with a purpose.

“Did good girl Betty Cooper get into a fight?” FP asked. He really tried to fight the amusement in his voice, but it was clear. She didn’t mind, showing a hint of a smile that looked painful.

“Do you,” She tried to start a sentence and stumbled. “Can you _please_ help me with this? I didn’t know where else to go, I really don’t know who to ask for…” Her words ran to an end as he gestured for her to come in.

There was a change in her attitude. She carefully walked in, slowly putting a foot in front of the other while looking around. He wasn’t sure what she expected to see, what dangerous thing she thought happened in there. It was funny to him how she slightly jumped after she closed the door behind them.

“I’ll go get some stuff and wash my hands. You should sit on the counter so I can take a good look at that.” FP gave her some room as he looked for what he needed.

Even though they hadn’t spent much time together, he had the feeling he knew everything about her. Maybe it was the fact that, despite their differences, she had a lot of her mom in her. He always thought Alice’s lifestyle was a betrayal to her young self. The big house, the high school sweethearts story, the good kids, the big happy family, it all looked like what they used to fight against, what they used to have nightmares about.

That resentment he had always felt towards her for her fake lifestyle was slowly dying lately. Sure, it was also about her leaving him, breaking his heart, forgetting their promises, but young love wasn’t supposed to last, he knew that by now, he had seen it happen way too many times.

The side of Alice he thought was long gone, the independent young woman who saw the world how she wanted, who made bold choices, who stood her ground, was still present. Not in her, she was still playing house. However, she seemed to have done a good job raising two girls who were slowly taking on the town.

It was nothing like his case. Jughead had grown to be an incredible man that he was proud of, but it wasn’t thanks to FP, it was in spite of him.

The Cooper girls were a bit of a mystery to him, but they still had a reputation going around. He would admire from a far and think how similar and yet wildly different their lives and choices were to Alice’s, at least during the time he used to know her. And even though he wasn’t happy about it, it seemed like destiny wanted to keep the Cooper daughters as close to the serpents as their mother once was.

“So, what happened?” He asked while walking back into the room. Maybe a while ago he wouldn’t have asked, but he had to make sure it was something she could handle. The kids were getting involved with weirder crowds every day and not even the serpents could keep up.

“Nothing. It was stupid.” She sounded annoyed, rather than upset.

“Great. We both know how much I’d love to call Alice and I’m sure she’d be thrilled to know you’re here.” He let out, charged with sarcasm.

Betty sighed loudly. He could see her feet nervously moving and hitting the counter door while he sorted through his first aid kit.

“You have to admit I was smart for coming here.” She was trying to get as far away from his question as she could. “I knew you’d have everything I could possibly need for this, you’ve probably done it a hundred times.”

“Yes.” He was starting to get annoyed. “You’ll be smarter if you tell me what the hell happened before I call Allie and –” He stopped abruptly. He took in a big breath. He hadn’t had a slip like that in almost 20 years.

“I got in a fight with Cheryl.” She finally explained. FP wasn’t sure if she had caught on to his little moment or he just seemed too frustrated and she gave in. “I know, it was not the right choice and I could’ve handled it better but I will not tolerate anyone insulting Polly, she doesn’t deserve it, she has done nothing to –”

“Betty, it’s fine, I clearly can’t judge you.” He interrupted her as she got more aggravated. “I’m sure you were right.”

Truly he was relieved. It could’ve been so many other worse things. His bad thoughts had gone from another gang to _a boyfriend he didn’t know of_.

They fell into a somewhat uncomfortable silence as he got up and stood in front of her. Betty’s smile seemed apologetic for some reason, maybe because of what happened, or maybe because she looked for him instead of anyone else.

Even though the counter was helping her, he was still a couple inches higher. As he closed the distance, the situation became stranger. FP was very aware of every single detail and every part of their bodies. He carefully stood next to her legs, instead of in between them. He stopped himself from resting one hand in her shoulder, not sure if it was to steady himself or to comfort her. And then he failed.

He grabbed a strand of hair that was too close to the cuts and put it behind her ear. It was so he could clean it up properly, or at least that was the excuse he came up with.

“How does it look?” Betty asked in a nervous tone a couple seconds later.

He brought his fingers as close as he could without touching the wounds. She flinched slightly when he touched her so he took note and tried to be a little bit more careful.

“It’s not that bad.” He replied and she sighed in relief. “But you can’t cover it up. You’ll have to deal with it sooner or later. Stay still now so I can clean it.” He ordered and she immediately obeyed, straightening her posture and almost stopping her breath.

Betty was a good _obedient_ girl, and that thought was fueling certain fires inside him that he desperately wanted to keep down, as deep down as he could.

He tried to focus every brain cell he had on going through the process in his head. First, cleaning the wounds which didn’t look deep at all and it made her story seem likely, since the hit hadn’t do much damage. It didn’t look infected at all, but he still had to make sure, and she didn’t seem to enjoy it considering the hissing that was going on.

“I won’t need stitches, right? I hate needles.” She complained.

“Think about that next time you want to get into a damn fight then, kid.” He was almost telling her off. Although it was amusing to him, his tone was serious and he was significantly louder than her.

The worst thing about that was, out of the corner of his eye, FP saw her chest fluttering for a second. _The cheerleader uniforms are definitely tighter than they were back in the day_ , he thought realizing he could see every curve and crook of her body.

His eyes snapped back up.

She had noticed it.

“You need anything else?” He let out harshly, putting some distance between them.

However, there was a smile on her face and her cheeks were flushed. Her stare wasn’t leaving his face and he wasn’t sure he could hold eye contact for much longer. _He was fucked_.

If he was honest, he had to admit this wasn’t the first time he had looked at her that way, not even close. And he knew for a fact it wasn’t the first time anyone had done it either.

There was one homecoming dance; he had made a point of reminding Jughead to be a gentleman as he dropped the kids off. He hadn’t started driving away when he caught both Archie and Jughead, and even _Veronica_ , looking up Betty’s skirt as she walked up the stairs ahead of them. But then again, he had also made big mistakes that night, like filling his son with hope that their family would get back together.

More recently, while they were all having dinner at Pop’s, Fred had privately made a comment to him about how “ _A girl as smart as Betty shouldn’t wear those short skirts, it sends the wrong message_.” Later, when he was alone at home, he regretted not saying something, but he was also glad she had friends that would shield her from that world and support her.

It hadn’t been that long since FP started to catch himself looking at her pale long legs that already moved with an elegance he had never seen before at her young age. He was almost forced to stare when she wore those tight jeans that didn’t leave much of her ass to the imagination, but she started combining them with lower and lower necklines, and as much as FP beat himself up for it, at least no one had ever noticed.

Until then.

“I’ve been dating other people, but nothing serious.” Betty let out. He was desperately trying to find the connection between his question, and that statement. “You asked about what happened, probably thought maybe it was a guy that hit me. I haven’t had anything serious since he left, not for a lack of trying, but I guess the concept of Betty Cooper is intimidating to most, I get it.”

It had been almost a year since Jughead had left. Not that he ever forgot, it was always somewhere in the back of his mind, but sometimes it was healthier to pretend he wasn’t counting the days as they went by. FP didn’t think he had raised a kid with that much determination, but when he announced he had some money saved and he was moving to France for his senior year, his heart exploded with joy and then shattered into a million pieces.

Jughead was better off far away from his dad. He was better off chasing his dreams in a place where his name didn’t weight him down.

“We text every now and then. We keep it very friendly and light, but I know he sends Archie to check up on you. He does miss you.” She added after a couple seconds of silence.

“Are we done here?” His voice sounded like a growl, after Betty’s words felt like a knife straight to the heart.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” She almost whispered and he could swear there were tears in her eyes. “I just – I finally found a good excuse to check up on you myself, after months of having to ask Archie, and we both know he’s not exactly helpful when it comes to expressing feelings in the spectrum of human emotions.”

That last comment amused him, and she was right. All Archie would do is come over, ask for a beer, and watch some football game on TV. Once, he had said he missed his friend, and immediately left without another single word. Still, FP appreciated the effort to keep him company sometimes.

“And I’m just tired. No one from outside our circle understands what we went through, and I’m tired of having to talk to them about it. I’m tired of talking about it at all.”

He did understand that. He was also exhausted.

A tear rolled down her cheek, and even though it seemed it was all she had, he still felt compelled to wipe it away. His thumb softly grazed her skin and the smile was instantly back. Pain had come for everyone on Riverdale and it hadn’t even spared the town’s girl next door.

“It will be fine, Betty. You have two months of high school left and then you can be gone.” He tried to comfort her.

Only he wanted to say _if you’re lucky_. Because he hadn’t been lucky, her parents hadn’t been lucky, Fred and Mary hadn’t been lucky, Hermione and Hiram definitely hadn’t been lucky. They were all stuck in this place, with the same people and the same problems.

But with Betty here looking at him and smiling, maybe _he wasn’t that unlucky_.

That thought was what kept him from moving away when her hand touched his cheek and made the guilt and the misery fade away for a brief minute. And when she wanted him closer, he obeyed, because _she was tired and she needed it, she needed comfort._

“FP,” He flinched at her saying his name in such a strange situation, definitely made him miss the ‘Mr. Jones’ days “you’re the only one who understands.” It was all she said and to be quite honest, he wasn’t sure what she was talking about.

Her fingers kept brushing his cheek and her other hand was tugging at his shirt to have him closer and closer. At first he thought she was just trying to get a hug, and even though he wasn’t a fan of those, he could break that rule for that specific girl in that particular moment. But her hand was still on his face and his limbs where almost frozen at his sides, as if trying to avoid whatever was gonna happen.

“Sweetheart,” He said and her eyebrows furrowed at the term “I don’t know what you think you’re doing but you should go home.” It wasn’t easy but he really tried to be a better man than who he had been in the past.

Betty’s hand had moved, she had a tight grip on his jaw and he had never felt more powerless. She was suddenly pulling him towards her, and FP begged to some higher power for the self control he was lacking. His eyes were tightly shut when her lips landed on his cheek and it felt like a blessing, both because he hadn’t misbehaved and because _they were so soft_.

“I care about you and I missed you.” She told him and his stomach sank. She was there for him after all that happened, but he also had been trying to be better and it wasn’t helping.

“What do you expect from me, Betty?” He asked, almost pleaded, but was met with silence.  

He placed his hands on the counter at the sides of her legs, fighting her, as she was still tugging. She only slightly spread her legs, so his hands were touching her thighs and he couldn’t help but immediately bring them up.

“Smart girl.” It was barely a whisper, but it escaped him and she heard it, her complexion lighting up in a second as she became aware of her advantage.

“I’m not leaving until you kiss me, so do it already.” She ordered and seemed convinced enough, at least for a man with weak morals like him.

A smirk appeared on her face as she saw him consider. He finally understood what she was there for, and why on earth _Betty Cooper_ had gotten in a fight. She was staring at him with those big eyes and he couldn’t fully understand how anything could be better than that.

So he did it. He moved closer and placed a small kiss on the corner of her mouth. She looked amused, considering it obviously wasn’t what she asked for. But FP realized it didn’t feel bad, and he probably wouldn’t be able to stop, which was exactly what she wanted.

His lips brushed her cheek, and started making their way down her neck. She was giggling and her arms were wrapped around him, as if she had to keep him there, _as if he could leave her_. It was fine with him, as far as he knew there was no going back for him, and it was clear why she would want to hold him and make sure he wasn’t leaving. Actually, the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to make her feel better.

The laughs slowly turned into heavy breathing and it seemed like she couldn’t get enough, tilting her head up as far as it would go, FP had to hold her just so she wouldn’t fall back.

He should’ve been gentler, but his hand had a firm grip on her hair when he pulled her in for a kiss, and judging by the way she was moaning into his mouth, she didn’t want him to stop. Her legs were wrapped around him, the skirt seemed forgotten and her hands were tugging at his shirt again, but upwards.

“You said it was just a kiss.” He insisted, not realizing until that moment how breathless he was.

She paid no attention to his comment and used the break to take his shirt off, he didn’t have the will to resist it and it was dawning on him that Betty would get what she wanted, as she always did. He tried to regain some control; he had learned one thing that would stop her so far, so his hand was on the back of her head grasping the hair.

He was a little shocked at the view. The wide eyed blonde was staring at his chest almost hungry, her lips red and swollen, and suddenly it felt wrong to do anything other than please her.

He kissed her again and took the time to enjoy it, her breath was sweeter than he had imagined. Her hips were thrusting towards him and she was franticly trying to hold on to his arms, so he slowed down to allow her to get a hold of herself. He even took the time to play with her lower lip, catching it with his teeth as she tried to calm down and breathe.

“Did I exhaust you so quickly?” FP teased, amused at how overexcited she had gotten. “That’s cute.” He said in the most condescending tone he could manage, realizing too late that he was only fueling Betty.

She grabbed his hand and without breaking eye contact placed it between her legs. She was making sure he knew it was okay by taking the lead, and even though he probably would’ve done it eventually, at least he wouldn’t feel as bad this way. He expected the heat on his fingers, but he didn’t think she would be so wet, didn’t think she wanted him that much.

“Am I a good girl now?” She asked with a whiny tone while her eyelashes fluttered.

He couldn’t help it, in less than a second his fingers were rubbing her over the panties, it was almost instinct kicking in. The high pitched moans didn’t take long and she was melting in his arms again.

“Please,” She managed in between whimpers “take it,” she interrupted herself with a scream and left it there.

FP ignored her pleading, putting more pressure every time she tried to speak, making her jump with pleasure and forget her words. Her eyes were watery and struggling to stay open, but she was trying so hard to maintain eye contact with him. He was determined to give her what she wanted.

“Take them off.” She cried out as soon as she was able too.

He didn’t doubt it for one second. The panties were off and she was sitting on the edge of his counter again, legs open for him.

Betty threw her head back in an attempt to recover, her chest still jumping up and down, and he decided she could use a second. He didn’t mind the view anyway. However, she didn’t seem to agree, already reaching behind her back to undo the zip.

The situation wasn’t good for him, he was dying to be out of his jeans, but he also didn’t want to hurry her, to hurry this. He reached for her hands to stop her, distracting her with a kiss slow enough for her to not get agitated again.

“No more surprise movements, you’re gonna kill me, kid.” He whispered while staring into her eyes and she looked disappointed for a second, until he realized. “Now, be a good girl and let me take it off.” He was enjoying it more than he should, especially when he could see her eyes lighting up as soon as he said it.

Leaving kisses all along her neck and her left shoulder, he slowly pulled the zipper down, brushing her back with his fingers, but he left the straps where they were. She seemed to have calmed down and it was the perfect opportunity to make sure she wasn’t regretting anything.

“Can you make me scream again, please?” She asked, speaking right next to his ear, her voice still a little weak.

“Huh?” He had completely understood the question, but hearing the request a second time just to be sure wouldn’t hurt.

“I need to come, Mr. Jones” Her voice was trembling and got lower during the last part.

But FP was neglecting himself completely, the pressure from the pants was killing him as he tried to fight the urge to take them off immediately. _The slower it is, the more chances she has to back off_.

He wouldn’t ignore the request, he couldn’t. His hand found its way between her legs without help. Two fingers went inside her without any struggling and she was already moaning into his neck, breathless again, holding onto him in whatever way she could.

“No.” She said after a while and he immediately stopped.

“Finally.” He let out relieved. The girl had come to her senses. “You’re smarter than this.” He added but she still had a greedy look.

“Although I do love this,” She made a pause to grab his hand, and although he was confused at first, it quickly made sense. Betty put his fingers into her mouth and looked straight at him while she sucked on them, slowly pulling them out. “I actually was thinking of something else.” As soon as she let go, she focused her attention on unbuttoning his jeans.

He was overwhelmed. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt like that, his blood felt heavy going through his veins, his head felt hot and his chest was exploding.

He wanted to touch Betty in every possible way, to make her moan, scream and cry.

Before he could realize it his underwear was off and she was looking at him eagerly. He couldn’t care less at this point, throwing himself at her again, devouring her mouth without being careful at all. The straps fell off her shoulders in between all the movement and the fabric was resting on her hips. FP’s lips explored every inch of her exposed chest while she laughed.

“I’m ready, please.” She begged in between giggles.

 _Betty asked for it_ , so he positioned himself and with one thrust he was inside her, a high pitched moan escaping her mouth. He had to fight his own muscles to keep a slow rhythm, but also fight her, since she was trying to gain control, he couldn’t let that happen.

His hands grabbed her ass, probably harder than he should, his fingers were digging into her muscles but he had to keep her still somehow. She didn’t seem to mind, responding with kisses while her fingernails did the same to the sides of his torso.

It didn’t take long for her to come, but she didn’t miss the chance to make a show out of it. She muttered nonsense into his ear while she held onto his hair, making sure to leave enough kisses on his neck and teeth marks on his cheek.

FP was still going, even though he knew not for long. She made him feel like a damn teenager, couldn’t even control himself. It wasn’t helping that Betty was being sneaky and pushing herself towards him, he wouldn’t make it for even ten seconds like that.

“No, be a good girl.” He growled at her, and he could feel her reaction, her whole body clenching for a second. _She really did like that_.

She didn’t stop though, putting a devious smile on her face. So FP had to take extreme measures.

Betty cried out when he took a step back. He didn’t even have to touch her, tugging from the pieces of uniform that were still hanging from her body to make her stand up. And maybe he was too rough when he turned her around and pressed her against the counter, but she was moaning again so it didn’t seem to matter.

Her first instinct was to bend over it but that wasn’t what he intended. Still, he took a minute to put himself inside her again, to run his hands over the soft skin on her back and to enjoy the view. After that, things had to be done his way.

FP’s hands reached for her hair again, this time to pull her up. Their bodies were pressed together and she threw her head back and over his shoulder, nonsense coming out of her mouth as he started thrusting into her again.

“Why are you doing this, Betty?” The question escaped him as he had a moment of sanity, but it didn’t stop him.

“I’m sorry it took me so long, I wish we had done this before.” She whispered in between little whimpers.

The confession had a weird effect on him for some reason. His heart suddenly felt heavy even though his chest felt empty. His hands were trembling as he pressed them on her stomach. He started placing kisses all over her neck and shoulder and she held onto his arms.

After she came again, he couldn’t take it anymore, the high pitched praises she was giving him were more than he could take. Thankfully he had enough common sense to pull out before it happened, he didn’t need something else to beat himself up for. FP quickly cleaned the mess he had made on her ass with some paper towels, as the reality of what had just happened sank in.

The reality of what _he had done_.

Within a second Betty was on her feet and kissing him again, but he was somewhere else. He silently walked her to the bedroom and finished taking her uniform off. She got into bed and he tucked her in before turning around.

“Where are you going?” Betty asked, worried.

“I’m sleeping on the couch. You can’t skip school tomorrow. You should be gone before I wake up.” He let out using a cold tone but didn’t look back.

If she was anyone else, he would’ve kicked her out, didn’t matter how late or dangerous it was. But it was Betty Cooper and although he couldn’t quite figure out exactly why, he still knew it wouldn’t be right to throw her out. And it was Betty Cooper, who shouldn’t be in his bed, who shouldn’t be having sex with him.

He chugged an entire glass of whiskey before getting dressed and settling down on the couch again, hoping it would shut down his thoughts and put him to sleep.

When he woke up the next morning, Betty was gone and there was no trace of her being there the night before. His heart was racing at the thought of the blonde gathering her stuff and leaving. He took a minute to calm down and promised himself he would never think about that night again.

After all, he didn’t deserve golden girls like Betty –like Allie– who could make the pain go away with a smile. He didn’t deserve that kind of love, and even if he did, he was a fool to think she would settle for him.


End file.
